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| Photos: Glynnis Laing |
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Building homes in the colonias not through charity but through opportunity
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(left) Completed home being moved from central building site to owner’s lot. |
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Proyecto Azteca |
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Proyecto Azteca is a self-help housing program, established and managed by low-income farmworkers, that helps colonia residents build their own homes. Low-income families (incomes from $4,500 to $13,500 per year) learn how to build houses through Proyecto Azteca. |
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Families work daily at Proyecto Azteca's building site, use house plans developed by Proyecto Azteca, borrow equipment from the tool library, share bulk purchasing of building materials, and assist each other in construction efforts.
One hundred percent of the construction is done by the participating families. They work in teams to build their homes at Proyecto Azteca’s South Texas headquarters. After the houses are finished, they are moved by truck onto lots already owned by the families in one of the 868 colonias in Hidalgo County.
The three bedroom houses are modest, but well built. Houses cost approximately $15,000. Monthly house payments are $125.
Each new house has an approved water and sewage disposal system. This is an important feature for many Proyecto Azteca homebuilders, a number of whom have not lived in a house with running water or an indoor bathroom. |
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| A proud homebuilder shows his granddaughter their new kitchen. |
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(above, right) Future homeowners build their new homes exclusively with the own labor. |
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Lower Valley Housing Corporation |
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| Photo: Lower Valley Housing |
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Working together for homeownership
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Lower Valley Housing Corporation's building site where families work together building new homes. |
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Lower Valley Housing Corporation, a nonprofit corporation, has helped low-income families build over 360 new homes since 1990 in El Paso County through a program called “mutual self-help construction.”
Lower Valley Housing Corporation forms groups of 8-12 families and teaches them how to build at least 65% of their homes. The balance of the work is done by professional contractors.
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The labor contributed by the families lowers the cost of the house and the monthly payments. This “sweat equity” serves as the down payment so that each borrower pays only minimum closing costs. Mutual self-help makes homes affordable for people who are not able to afford homes in the conventional housing market. |
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The mutual self-help program provides an alternative to families who would otherwise end up living in substandard colonias.
Hard work is the key to mutual self help. This, coupled with a willingness to work cooperatively with other participants represents a Texas home-grown solution for the common goal of homeownership. |
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Mutual Self-Help Home Costs
3 bedroom house cost $42,000
Down payment none
Monthly payments:
Note and interest $221.00
Taxes and insurance $105.00
Total monthly payment $321.00 |
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(right) A home built by Lower Valley Housing |
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